This Pear & Pomegranate Christmas Wreath Salad is a stunning and delicious salad that is perfect for holiday entertaining! It looks fancy, but is so easy to make! The ultimate way to impress your guests this holiday season. {Gluten-free, vegetarian, & refined sugar-free}
I am SO excited about this recipe that we’re sharing with you today!
In my mind, there is nothing more fun than coming up with a recipe that goes along with a theme…and one of my favourite themes of all times is CHRISTMAS!
It seriously lights a fire within my soul.
Such a cheeseball, but it’s TRUE.
In the past couple of years, I’ve shared some other festive recipes like these:
- Olive & Goat Cheese Penguins
- No-Bake Reindeer Energy Bites
- No-Bake Vegan Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake Cups
- Chocolate Mocha Snowballs
- Spiced Pomegranate Spritzers
And this year?
A Pear & Pomegranate Christmas Wreath Salad!
AMAZING, right?!
And SOOO pretty!!
Why we love this Christmas wreath salad
So I’m sure just by looking at it, you can probably guess some of the many reasons why we LOVE this salad!
But let’s just reiterate.
- It’s gorgeous
- Festive
- Unique
- Easy
- Has so many delicious flavours and textures
- Nutrient-packed
- A crowd-pleaser!
Really.
This salad truly is stunning. I absolutely love how the spinach forms the greenery and the pears, pomegranates, dried cranberries, nuts, and feta are like little Christmas decorations.
When putting together this salad, I felt like I was decorating my house for Christmas.
So, as another perk, if you’re into decorating, this salad will be your new best friend!
You could basically hang this masterpiece on your front door…if it wasn’t a salad, of course ;)
What you need for this Christmas wreath salad
Another thing I love along with holiday-themed recipes are simple ingredients lists!
And this recipe just happens to have a pretty straight forward list of ingredients.
You’ll need the following items to make this salad:
- Large round platter or charger plate (I used a 12-inch charger plate)
- Baby spinach
- Bartlett pears
- Fresh pomegranate arils
- Dried cranberries
- Feta cheese
- Pecans
- Olive oil
- Dijon mustard
- Apple cider vinegar
- Maple syrup
How to make Christmas wreath salad
This is the fun part! I honestly couldn’t wait to make this salad because I just had this feeling that it was going to turn out both gorgeous and yummy.
Perfect combo.
So let’s get started.
In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper.
Next, heat a small frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the pecans and maple syrup and cook for 5-8 minutes or until maple syrup has evaporated. Be sure to stir the mixture frequently so that the nuts don’t burn. Set aside to allow the nuts to cool.
Next, get out your large circular platter or tray. Place the bowl or ramekin with the dressing in the centre of the platter. Carefully arrange the spinach around the bowl so that it resembles a wreath.
Arrange the pear slices, pomegranate arils, dried cranberries, pecans, and feta cheese on top of the spinach.
Don’t be afraid to tuck some of these ingredients underneath the spinach as well to give your “wreath” more dimension.
Can you tell I love decorating? ;)
To serve:
Dish out some of the salad onto a plate and drizzle with desired amount of dressing. Toss to make sure that every component of the salad is coated evenly in the dressing.
Can this salad be made in advance?
Yes, that’s one thing I love about this salad! You can make it the day before and it still looks great!
Expert tip:
Be sure to hold off on putting any dressing on the salad until right before (or a few hours before) serving to avoid the spinach from going soggy.
No one wants to eat a soggy Christmas wreath salad.
We want it to be fresh and crisp!
How long can this Christmas wreath salad stay in the fridge?
This salad should be good in the fridge for up to three days. Just be sure to cover it with saran wrap to keep the ingredients nice and fresh.
And as recommended above, don’t put the dressing on until ready to serve for best results.
Nutrients found in this Christmas wreath salad:
Who says holidays can’t be healthy?
With recipes like this one, you’ll not only feel satisfied, but also obtain a whole host of nutrients!
Nutrients we find in this salad:
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin K
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin E
- Fibre
- Potassium
- Healthy fats
- Zinc
Most nutritious Christmas wreath EVER.
What to serve along with this Christmas wreath salad
The flavours in this salad are very versatile and go along with lots of different meals and sides.
Here are some ideas to try along with this salad:
- Cranberry & Pistachio Stuffed Turkey Breast
- Roasted Sweet Potato Soup with Maple Glazed Walnuts
- Sweet Potato Coconut Mash
- Squash Apple Cranberry Bake
- Cranberry Meatballs
No matter how you choose to serve up this salad, one thing is for sure….it will definitely be the hit of the party!
Christmas Wreath Salad
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 1/2 tbsp. maple syrup
- Pinch of salt and pepper
For the salad:
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 8 cups fresh baby spinach
- 1 Bartlett pear ripe but firm, cored and thinly sliced
- 3/4 cup pomegranate arils
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil, Dijon, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar and salt.
- Next, heat a small frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the pecans and maple syrup and cook for 5-8 minutes or until maple syrup has evaporated. Be sure to stir the mixture frequently so that the nuts don't burn.
- Get out your circular platter or tray. Place the bowl or ramekin with the dressing in the centre of the platter. Carefully arrange the spinach around the bowl so that it resembles a wreath.
- Next, arrange the pear slices, pomegranate arils, dried cranberries, pecans, and feta cheese on top of the spinach. You can tuck some underneath the spinach as well to give it more dimension.
- To serve, divide the salad among the individual plates and drizzle with desired amount of dressing.
Nutrition
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If you have a chance to try out this Christmas Wreath Salad, I’d love to see your pics! Tag me on instagram @hauteandhealthyliving and use the hashtag #hauteandhealthy!
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This is just timely. Thank you for sharing this!
My pleasure! Glad you enjoyed the post! :)